Auf Wiedersehen
by TheGirlWhoRemembers
Summary: German for goodbye. Literally, "until we see each other again". Episode tag to 3.14, Father and Bride and Betrayal.


AN: Spoilers for 3.14, Father + Bride + Betrayal.

* * *

 **JACK'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

There was a knock on his front door, and Jack got up off the couch, where he'd been sitting, staring at his phone.

He opened the front door, to reveal Matty on the other side, looking serious, but also surprisingly gentle. Even a touch sad.

'Hey, boss.'

Matty gave a wan smile.

'Hey, Jack.'

He stepped back to let her in, and they sat down on the couch, Matty gesturing with her head towards his phone.

'When?'

Even Matty wasn't privy to all the details of this operation. She wasn't privy to any of them, actually, aside from the fact that it was a pursuit of Kovac, it was open-ended, and that Jack had been tapped to lead the hunt.

Jack swallowed.

'I report in 60 hours.' Matty nodded, reaching out to clasp Jack's shoulder for a moment. He gave a nod at that, then turned his head to face her, expression very serious. 'Matty, can you do something for me? Find a damn good gun and a damn good person to watch our boy's back? The best?' Jack tried to grin in a way that was nearly a smirk, but didn't quite succeed. 'Other than me, of course.'

His voice cracked a little with emotion on _me_. Matty smiled, half-sad, half-fond, and squeezed Jack's shoulder again.

'I can do better than that, Jack.' She locked eyes with him. 'Give me a name.'

That got her a true smile, and because Jack Dalton was a hugger, a hug.

Matty hugged him back, smiling that half-sad, half-fond smile over his shoulder.

Pulling strings, making an offer that no-one could refuse, calling in some favours…

You did everything you could for family.

* * *

 **T-48**

* * *

'You invited me here-'

'To say goodbye to a good friend.'

Mac swallowed, and Jack just smiled at him, a little wanly, but heartfelt none the same. He reached out and clapped his partner on the arm, then went and pulled out a bottle of very nice whiskey.

He poured them each a small measure, and sat down at the kitchen counter, next to Mac, who was staring at the counter, still trying to process.

Jack sighed internally. Their boy had abandonment issues. _Big-time_ abandonment issues. And according to Bozer and Riley, the two of them had co-dependency issues.

He slid one of the glasses towards the blonde.

'Been saving this for a special occasion.'

Mac, probably so he'd have something to do with his hands, picked it up. Jack nudged him, taking a sip pointedly himself, and Mac, with the tiniest hint of an eye-roll, did the same.

'It's good.'

He fell silent, and Jack nudged him again, putting down his whiskey glass and looking Mac in the eye.

'Hey, son, I'm gonna be back.' Both of them knew that this could well take years. Jack could be gone for a long, long time. He might also…well, it was always a distinct possibility in their line of work that you wouldn't come home, but they were both trying very hard to not think about that, something they had a lot of practice with. 'I swear.'

Mac swallowed, but Jack finally got a little smile out of him.

It was going to be a hard adjustment for all of them, but he figured it might actually be toughest for Mac, with the abandonment issues and everything they'd been through together, and how, in seven and a half years, they'd really only been apart for those three months Mac had run off to Nigeria.

Jack hadn't coped well with that _at all_ , so he reckoned Mac might have a couple of issues with his departure.

(That was part of the reason why he'd wanted to tell him first. Give him a little time to adjust…and so that he could be there to help out with a bit of the adjusting.)

Jack took another sip of his whiskey, and he and Mac sat there, sipping their whiskey for a couple of minutes as Mac continued to process.

Eventually, the blonde sighed, pushing away his near-empty glass.

'It really is hard to imagine you not being around.'

Jack gave a little grin at that.

'Did I knock a screw loose in that brain of yours, brother? Second time you've said that!'

Mac shot him a _look_ , but it wasn't the same as his usual. This one was tinged with sadness, like he was realizing that Jack wouldn't be around to make stupid, thoroughly non-scientific comments that gave them a little light in the darkness anymore, started that banter that was probably responsible for keeping them sane and remarkably mentally healthy, after all they'd been through, after all they'd seen.

Jack didn't even get a lecture on how brains worked.

The former CIA agent knocked back the rest of his whiskey, then got up and walked over to the cupboard next to his TV. He opened the box that contained his prized keepsakes, and pulled out a set of worn dog tags.

He walked back over and held them out to Mac.

'Look after these for me, son? 'Till I come home?'

He left the rest of it, the _if something happens to me, I want you to have these_ , unspoken. Mac would know. He understood. With him, it didn't need to be said.

Between them, a lot of things didn't have to be said, or didn't have to be said literally, in a way that others would understand.

(Though, Jack reckoned, that didn't mean they _should_ go unsaid.)

Mac shook his head.

'Jack, these are a family heirloom, I can't-'

The older man cut him off, raising a finger.

'They gotta go to you, son. I promised my old man they would.' Jack's voice grew softer, a little rougher with emotion, as he put the dog tags in Mac's hand, closed his boy's fingers around them. 'Promised him they'd go to my oldest boy.' Mac's eyes were distinctly damp. Jack was pretty sure his were too. 'Since I ain't got little Jacks, had to improvise, son.'

Mac looked at the dog tags in his hand, then back up at Jack. He smiled, a small smile, more than tinged with sadness, but full of love. Then, in a way that was very young and made Jack wish he could have had a good chat with Jim before he left, Mac flung his arms around the older man.

Jack smiled, soft and fond and a little sad, over Mac's shoulder and patted his back.

* * *

 **T-9**

* * *

Jack walked into his apartment, dumping his go-bag, followed closely by his partner, who'd dropped him off, as they'd taken Mac's Jeep when they'd reported to the Phoenix, rather than Jack's car.

(Jack had insisted on giving Mac one last 'remedial driving lesson.' Being taught to drive by MIT students and then doing most of your early driving in Afghanistan and Iraq made you a road hazard.)

Mac broke the silence.

'You've been, uh, unusually quiet. Is something, well…you'd have a lot on your mind, and there's…never mind.'

Mac trailed off a little awkwardly. His back to the blonde, Jack gave a fondly exasperated little smile at that.

It would never be said that Mac was smooth (or just not-awkward), but it would never be said that he didn't care, either.

'Brother, can you promise me something?' Jack turned to face him. 'Don't go running off down that rabbit hole in there…' Jack tapped a finger on the side of his own head. '…all on your own, okay?'

Mac swallowed. He was well aware of his tendency towards obsession…and his tendency to thus, as Jack put it, go down the rabbit hole alone. Deal with whatever he'd become obsessed with on his own, leaving his family behind. Leaving the people who watched his back behind.

He locked eyes with the older man who'd saved his life more times than even he could count.

'I promise to try my hardest not to.'

Jack nodded, and then smiled wryly, a touch teasingly.

'Yeah, guess that was the best I could hope for, wasn't it? You're gonna drive my substitute bonkers, trust me, running off to do your thing without sharing what the plan is, going on about how brains work and wanting to have dinner with Shoe-dinger, and the, like, hundred uses for paperclips. In hindsight, probably don't have to worry 'bout you killing her, more like _her_ killing _you_ …'

* * *

 **T+1**

* * *

 **PHOENIX FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS**

 **SOMEWHERE IN LA**

* * *

As Bozer worked on a prosthesis for a Phoenix team shipping out in three hours, his phone chimed with a text alert.

It was from Jack.

With a glance at the other side of the lab, where Mac and Riley were working on updating Sparky's hardware and software, the robot prattling on and complaining as usual, Bozer headed for the nearest supply closet.

(Sparky had picked up what at the time had seemed like too many of Jack's personality traits from that road-trip Jack had taken him on.)

Once safely in the supply closet, he pressed play on the video that Jack had sent him.

' _Hey, Boze. Got one more thing to ask you to keep an eye on for me.' Jack swallowed, then, somehow, managed to look Bozer straight in the eye. 'Mac and Riles. You…you know what they mean to me.' Jack smiled, fondly, a touch exasperatedly. Paternally. 'Try and keep him out of that rabbit hole in his head, or get him to take you and Ri and Matty with him.' Jack swallowed again, his voice growing even rougher with emotion. 'And…I don't think she's gonna forget this, not now, just…just make sure that Riles never, ever forgets she's got a bigger family now, that she ain't gotta do everything by herself?' Jack smiled, a little sadly. 'I'm counting on you, Boze. You're the best man for the job.' The smile grew into a silly grin that was oh-so-Jack. 'And that, double-O-Boze, is your mission, if you choose to accept it.'_

Bozer sniffled a little, wiping away the tears that'd pooled in his eyes, as the video finished playing.

He saluted sharply.

'I promise, Jack.'

* * *

 **T+4**

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

Riley stood on the edge of the deck, leaning on the railing, staring out at LA. She looked down at her phone, which displayed a gift voucher for her and Jack's favourite Skee-ball place.

A voucher that was good for two slices of pizza, a can of soda and half a dozen games of Skee-ball.

It'd come with a message.

 _To tide you over 'till I get home. Better get lots of tickets, Ri. I think we nearly got enough for one of those giant teddy bears!_

* * *

Bozer looked outside, where Mac was sitting by the fire-pit, the entire bowl of paperclips that had been on their coffee table next to him. It was now half-empty, with the other paperclips having been turned into a huge array of shapes that surely had to with Mac and Jack's epic bromance.

Riley, meanwhile, was alternately staring at her phone and the LA skyline.

He bent down to grab the huge casserole dish of mac'n'cheese (with four cheeses and plenty of bacon – it seemed like a bacon kind of day) out of the oven, setting it down on the counter. With another glance at Mac and Riley, he scooped out two big bowls of steaming, cheesy pasta goodness.

He stood there for a second, glancing at the bowls of mac'n'cheese, at the figures on the deck, and remembering the promise he'd made Jack.

Matty, meanwhile, sitting at the kitchen counter, raised an eyebrow at him, and gestured with her head towards the deck, in a way that said, _well, what are you waiting for?_

Bozer nodded and smiled, grabbed a couple of spoons, stuck them in the pasta, and headed outside.

* * *

He set one bowl down next to Mac, sitting down next to his BFF, then set the other bowl next to himself for Riley.

'He's gonna be back.' Bozer grinned with a bravado he didn't _100%_ feel. He'd been in the spy game long enough now to know that there was always a chance you wouldn't come back. Riley's brush with death less than a day ago exemplified that. 'He's Jack Dalton. He's more badass than John McClane and Boba Fett put together! He's gonna get Kovac, and then he's gonna be back before we know it, making constant movie references and telling those annoying stories of his that have serious plot holes and don't go anywhere…'

His words had the desired effect, because Mac stopped fiddling with paperclips and picked up his dinner, and Riley turned around, walked over to the fire-pit and plonked herself down next to Bozer. Automatically, Bozer put his arms around his two friends for a comforting side-hug.

He got a hug back from Riley, before the hacker picked up her own dinner, and an auditory equivalent back from Mac, who made an affectionate-ish sound, which was the best he could do with his mouth full of mac'n'cheese.

Mac swallowed, and then spoke, continuing Bozer's train of thought.

'…he'll probably complain even _more_ frequently.' Mac gave a little smile that had a bit of a smirk in it. 'His tolerance levels for my _science-y nonsense babble_ will have dropped.'

Riley snorted, nodding in agreement, swallowing her mouthful of pasta before picking up the thread.

'How much do you wanna bet he'll come back with even more unbelievable stories?'

Bozer nodded in agreement, shaking his head and speaking, as Mac nodded and pointed at Riley with his spoon.

'Like fighting a tiger-bear-shark that Kovac is keeping as a pet?'

'Or discovering Ewoks living in the forests of Croatia?'

* * *

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Matty glanced between the three young people sitting by the fire-pit, and her phone, which displayed a text message.

 _Watch the kids' backs for me, will you, Matty?_

She smiled, soft and fond in a way that so few got to see, and nodded seriously, speaking at a whisper.

'I promise, Jack.'

Then, she picked up the other two bowls from the stack Bozer had set out earlier, filled them with mac'n'cheese and walked out onto the deck, passing a bowl and spoon to Bozer, who nodded gratefully and grinned at her, before digging in. She sat down next to Mac, and took a bite of her own dinner, just as Riley gestured to her bacon-topped pasta with her spoon.

'Jack's gonna be so pissed that he missed mac'n'cheese with extra bacon.'

Jack adored bacon, to a degree that was almost scary and definitely not good for his cholesterol levels.

Everyone else nodded, making noises of agreement as their mouths were full. Mac, once he'd swallowed, jogged his best friend with an elbow.

'When he gets back, you should replicate the Bacon Feast from when I was fifteen.'

Bozer grinned and pointed at his BFF.

'That, bro, is the best idea you've had, in, like, twelve hours.'

Riley snorted. Matty raised an eyebrow at Mac and Bozer.

' _Bacon Feast,_ Baby Einstein?'

Mac shrugged, a sheepish little smirk on his face, as Bozer just grinned wider, rather smugly, Mac speaking.

'Exactly what it says on the tin, Matty.'

Riley snorted again, shaking her head in a way that was clearly fondly exasperated.

'Jack's gonna love that.' She paused, a wry little smirk appearing on his face. 'The Phoenix docs…not so much.'

* * *

AN: I really hope you guys enjoyed that – Team as Family feels, Mac and Jack bromance, Jack/bacon, what's not to love, right? :P

As you can probably tell from that episode tag – I enjoyed that ep. The real-life game of Clue was fun, and a nice last hoorah for the Phoenix family as we know it. I really liked Jack's little goodbyes with everyone at the end, especially with Riley. I did like the Mac and Jack moments in the ep, but I did wish that there were more of them, and that we got a bit more bromance and a bit more Dad!Jack with the two of them. Having said that, I really got the impression that Mac and Jack had their 'proper goodbye' when Jack invited him over at the start, since they missed Game Night and all (and that a lot goes unsaid between them but they both hear it, loud and clear), and was a bit annoyed that we didn't get to see it (in general, it could have done with a little more time devoted to Jack's departure, I think)…but I guess that's what fanfic is for!

As for Jack's departure, I think it was well-done, plausible and thankfully leaves the door open for him to return at some point (either as a regular or a guest star). However, I think they're also in a bit of a pickle now, too, in some ways. I mean, to turn this into a permanent departure, they have four options, I think:

Jack hunts Kovac for the rest of the run of the show. Entirely plausible, but it'd be like Cage's endless vacation to visit her sister, which was pretty annoying. This could be tricky to sell, but they could probably do it with some creativity…

Jack gets Kovac and is unharmed, but winds up not returning to the Phoenix. This, I think, could be hard to sell, particularly without George Eads guest-starring. I think that there are really only two ways to do it – Jack is either tasked with destroying Kovac's organization too/hunting his lieutenants (which I think he'd do, but he'd be pissed about it and really miss his family), or he unknowingly fathered a kid during his first hunt for Kovac and he stays with the kid and the kid's mom.

Jack dies getting Kovac.

Jack is badly injured getting Kovac and must retire from being a covert operative. (Also tricky to sell, I think, without a guest-starring role from George Eads, or some really creative things like phone-calls and off-screen conversations, because Jack would definitely come back into the team's lives, even if he couldn't watch their backs in the field anymore.)

And Mac's new partner/Jack's replacement – I'm glad they're not going with someone who is a complete stranger to the team. I still think someone who was friends with both Mac and Jack would have been nicer (I still vote Charlie Robinson!), but someone hand-picked by Jack, whom he trusts more than anyone else to watch Mac's back? That's the next best thing. I wonder if they're hinting that we're going to hark back to Mac and Jack's first meeting, with the whole 'either you're going to really like her, or you're gonna kill her' bit? Or whether that's a hint towards combative-rivals-turned-slow-burn-lovers like Tiva or something? (Not sure how I feel about either of those, I'll reserve judgement until we actually meet Jack's hand-picked replacement…)

Is Jack really going to be back? In all honesty, I suspect no. Definitely not for good, though maybe, just maybe, he'll have a couple of guest appearances which will tie up his storyline in a way that hopefully gives Jack a happy ending. HOWEVER – the Land of Fanfic is not subject to limitations like actor availability. Guess who is already plotting how she could bring Jack home in her currently-hypothetical-but-likely-to-be-written version of Season 4? :P

If you'd like to read something with a happily-ever-after for Jack, you could check out my other story, _Accidental Happily Ever After._

I've also been working on a new project in the lead-up to Jack's departure. Now that it's occurred, I'll post the first chapter tomorrow. It's called _In Every Universe,_ and here's the summary:

Some things are just meant to be, no matter the universe. Mac and Jack's bromance is one of those things. Or, 100 ways Mac and Jack could have met.


End file.
